Italian high school students begin 2026 maturità exams

On Thursday, June 18, 2026, the written Italian portion of Italy’s state graduation exam (maturità) started for thousands of students. In the province of Varese nearly 8,000 pupils sat the test, while in Verona 7,505 candidates began the same examination, representing a slight increase over the previous year.

The written exam offered seven different prompts divided into three categories. The literary analysis section (type A) included Cesare Pavese’s poem “Passerò per piazza di Spagna” and an excerpt from Vitaliano Brancati’s “I piaceri”. The argumentative section (type B) presented the 1946 inaugural speech of Giuseppe Saragat to the Constituent Assembly, a passage by Piero Bianucci on scientific communication, and an essay by sociologist Frank Furedi on the importance of borders. The current‑affairs section (type C) featured a piece by journalist Wenke Husmann on wonder and a text from Mario Calabresi’s “Alzarsi all’alba” on the value of effort.

In Verona the cohort comprised 6,352 students in state schools, 864 in private institutions and 289 external candidates, spread across 43 schools and overseen by 176 examination commissions.